1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to Bluetooth® communication and, more particularly, to a Bluetooth® headset that may be readily capable of pairing with multiple Bluetooth®-enabled devices, and to a multipoint pairing method for the same.
2. Discussion of the Background
With popularization of mobile terminals, technologies enabling data exchange between nearby mobile terminals have been developed. Among short-range data communication technologies, Bluetooth®-based wireless data transmission has attracted much attention.
A recently developed Bluetooth® headset supporting Bluetooth® Specification 2.0 provides a multipoint connection feature. The multipoint technology enables a Bluetooth® headset to connect to two or more Bluetooth®-enabled devices (such as a mobile terminal and MP3 player) at the same time. Thanks to the multipoint technology, the user of a Bluetooth® headset may handle multiple devices. For example, when a Bluetooth® headset is in communication with a mobile terminal and MP3 player through a multipoint connection, the user of the Bluetooth® headset may both enjoy music using the MP3 player and answer a call using the mobile terminal. That is, when the mobile terminal receives a call while the MP3 player is playing music to the Bluetooth® headset, the user can answer the call through the same Bluetooth® headset.
Before establishing a connection between two Bluetooth®-enabled devices, the devices may have to perform a pairing procedure to register each other. For example, in the case of a Bluetooth® headset and a mobile terminal, the user may direct the Bluetooth® headset to enter the pairing mode, and may direct the mobile terminal to enter the device inquiry mode so that the mobile terminal can search for the Bluetooth® headset. When the mobile terminal finds the Bluetooth® headset, the user directs the mobile terminal to register the Bluetooth® headset.
In general, to enter the pairing mode, a Bluetooth® headset may require its user to perform an operation (for example, pressing the ‘power’ button for an extended duration) when the headset is turned on.
In order for a Bluetooth® headset to establish a multipoint connection with two Bluetooth®-enabled devices, the Bluetooth® headset may have to perform a pairing procedure for each Bluetooth®-enabled device (two pairings). In this process, the Bluetooth® headset may have to be turned off and then back on.